July 21st Update

Okra

Even though almost all of my garden is now taken up by squash/pumpkin vines, I am starting some new plants from seed for the second half of the summer.  I decided to try growing some Okra.  Its been about 8 years since I last grew okra.  Since it likes heat a lot, its a good choice summer time here in N. Texas.   Here are my first seedlings to sprout. I shouldn't need more than 5 or 6 plants to feed us all the okra we want.   Hopefully these guys will do well.  

In a couple weeks, when these guys are bigger, I will have to find an open spot to transplant these.  They are usually pretty tall plants, so they should be able to grow above the vines.    

SVB Battle

The pumpkin. hubbard squash, and acorn squash vines have been a huge jumbled mess.  Once again, I probably planted way more than I should have in my small space I have.  With such a tangled mess, I had not been able to inspect for Squash Vine Borer eggs, or spray anything for them, or even try and cover them with Tulle.  So I just let things go and run their course.  I have buried vines whenever possible, but many of the vines I just could not, especially ones that grew up onto the fence.  I can now see much of the damage the SVB have done so far.   I think the first generation completed  without me noticing much, and are now we're into the second generation of them.  I see many sections of the vines that have big holes in them, as shown in the pics below (Sugar Pie Pumpkin vines)

Most of the damaged vines have big gaping holes, and when I have inspected them, no more grub inside, so I think they exited the vines and dug into the ground to form cocoons.  I have also found empty cocoon shells on the ground too, indicating the second generation is out flying.  I have seen many eggs laid the last few days, and have killed at least 6 moths this weekend.  They are usually see flying around at mid-day.   It seems the hotter it is, the faster they fly.  

The interesting thing is that despite the damage, the plants are still able to produce.  Now the two vines I took a picture of above actually have 2 pumpkins on them that are just about mature:

I think these vines have probably put down a few more roots further down, (but I actually didn't bury these vines) or maybe there was just enough connection left in the chewed up vine to keep providing for the plant.  Either way, it seem often the Sugar Pie pumpkin plants can either outgrow or deal with some of the damage of these SVBs.

Unfortunately I think I have raised an army of SVBs.  I saw a bunch today flying, and killed as many as I could.    My plan is to pull out the remaining Sugar Pie pumpkin vines, and clear out the space when the last 4 pumpkins are ready to pick. So that will probably be in 2 more weeks.  Then I will start a  fall planting.  I will for sure have to cover them with Tulle if they are to stand a chance, to protect them from the hoards of SVBs and cucumber beetles out there.  We'll see what happens!

But up to now, the harvest has been pretty good so far.  I have already picked 1 large Rouge Vif, 1 large Hubbard, 1 small Hubbard, 14 Sugar Pie Pumpkins, 12 Acorn squashes, and at least 20 ball zucchinis.  

Sunflowers

The volunteer sunflowers are still doing great. Here is another Mammoth Sunflower that popped up right next to the edge of the garden bed.  A couple of Hubbard squash vines are growing up it.  The flower head is huge, and full of seeds,and it seems like it going to topple the plant over.  I ended up picking the other big head I had, since the squirrels had eaten about 1/3 of it.  We've been snacking on the seeds the past few days. I hope they don't mess with this one.  

Mid-July Garden Update

Been around 3 weeks since I last posted.  July is here, and its been pretty hot! Actually, we had a hot end of June, then we have a nice week in the low 90s during the 4th of July week, but then last week it was back to being "stinkin' hot" with highs in the upper 90s and up to 102.  The forecast calls for a relief from the heat again this week with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s again. Very nice for being mid July here in Texas!

Chickens

The chicks are looking a lot more like chickens now.  They still make the baby peep sounds, but occasionally I hear a chicken cluck too, so they are in the late  teenage stage now.  Here they are sitting atop their chicken tractor.  I tie up the dog and let them free roam some mornings before I go to work, then I put them back in their coop.  

Squash/Pumpkins

I finally decided to pick my big Hubbard squash.  It was not growing any, and the skin had gotten pretty hard, so I brought out the pruning shears and cut it off the vine.  It wasn't quite as heavy as it looks, its probably about 15lbs.  Haven't decided what I am going to do with it yet, maybe some pie, some bread.  Looking forward to see how it tastes. But in the meantime, its sitting in the pantry.  I also picked the smaller one, because some earwigs were starting to damage it on the underside.  The skin was hard too, so I think it was ready. When I pulled it up, I noticed the vine was pretty damaged from what I think was SVBs.  So that's probably why that one didnt grow too much.  

Unfortunately have not had any more Hubbard squash set... all of them get aborted. Now that its been so hot, I am not to hopeful. I am hoping if we have a cooler week we might get some more to set.  I've read that in temps above 90, they have a real hard time setting, and the plants tend to abort the female flowers.  

I am definitely seeing some effects from SVBs now.  My vines are so big and rambunctious that I have had a hard time checking all the vines for the eggs. I have also not been good at spraying the neem oil.  I guess I've gotten lazy, plus that stuff is expensive. and since I didn't see much activity, I didn't bother spraying it much.  I've seen damage on some of my Hubbard vines, Rouge Vif D'etampes,  ball zucchini, and on my sugar pie pumpkins.  The sugar pie pumpkins are mostly done now.  I've picked about 12 of them now, and there are about 5 other ones still maturing on the vines.  But I think they will be done in a few weeks, and then I might pull up all those vines.   Some of the sections of the Rouge Vif vines have died off, but there are some big sections of the vine that are still growing well.  But no more pumpkins have set. They have all withered and died :(

The ball zucchini has done pretty well, despite some SVB damage, which I treated by extracting some grubs, and injecting with BT to kill any other ones. We've gotten at least 15 nice ones from 4 plants.   Today we grilled some on the barbecue grill. They were great that way. 

I am trying to decide when its time to pull up all the vines and start my fall planting. I might evaluate within a month, and in the meantime start some in pots.  I think I will focus on Rouge Vif, more acorn squash, and some patty pan, yellow squash, and ball zucchini for the fall.   I'll keep the existing Hubbard vines, and hopefully see if they can produce more later on.  

Sunflowers, Etc.

The only other things that are growing now are pole beans and sunflowers. The pole beans are huge, with lots of flowers, but no beans!  I think it might be the heat.  Again, am hoping that the forecasted cooler weather fixes this problem. 

Here is yet another volunteer sunflower.  I think its another one of the mammoth varieties.  

In this picture you can see it, and some of the other varieties behind it.  They all have been doing great, and thankfully, the squirrels have left them alone!

The bees are really liking my garden, between all the squash/pumpkin blossoms in the morning, and all the sunflowers.  Here is another kind, with a good shot of a bee on it.  

This is the first mammoth sunflower, as of today. The seeds are pretty much ready to eat. We've been snacking on some of them while still on the stalk.

 Another bee magnet.. morning glories.  These are also volunteers from many years back. They come back year after year, reseeding themselves.  They are almost weeds now but every year I let a few grow.

First Pumpkin Harvests

of 2013

While inspecting my large Rouge Vif D'etampes pumpkin, I noticed a few small gnaw marks on the bottom part of it.  Fearing that rats or some other critter might be starting to get interested in it, I decided to try to cover it with a fabric bag to protect it. While trying to move the pumpkin, I head a crack,  and snapped my stem off my pumpkin!  Thankfully, I think its mostly ripe now, so I think I will let it cure in the garage a few weeks, and then I will begin to make some pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes!!

I weighed it, and its about 23lbs.  Many of the sugar pie pumpkins have also ripened.  Here are my three little "punkins" holding 2 Sugar Pie pumpkins, and the previous pumpkin. I've picked 4 Sugar Pie pumpkins already, and there are about 8 others on the vines.

Mid June Update

Its mid June already, and pretty hot and sticky out there.  It was extremely muggy today, almost felt like opening a dish washer and sticking your face in there.    My chicks are getting bigger, and are in that "teenage" stage where they have both down and feathers, and still have baby chick voices.   I try and take them out about an hour a day to forage around.  They love it, especially all the interesting bugs and worms they find to eat.

My garden is now mainly squash/pumpkin vines, and some pole beans, and sunflowers.. (they were all volunteers from last year).  The beans have gotten a very slow start, and have been kind of sickly.  But we've managed a few meals from them.

The blue Hubbard squash plants continue to grow huge, despite what I believe is some sort of mosaic virus infection.    They are about 25ft long and branching out a lot.   Fortunately one of the fruit has set and grown very well.

Here is my big one.  Its pretty big now, I would guess its about 15lbs.  

There are 3 other hubbards growing, but they are still around 5 inches in diameter, and I am not sure if they will make it or get aborted.

On the other side of the garden are the Sugar Pie pumpkins and the Rouge Vif d'Etampes.   The sugar pie vines have totally engulfed the area, and have kind of crowded out some of the space I was hoping the Rouge Vif d'Etampes would grow into.  But I am starting to get some nice pumpkins ripening.  Here are the first 2, and there are probably about 6 or 7 other green ones on the vines.  

Here is the Rouge Vif d'Etampes pumpkin.  Its stopped growing.  I would guess its about 20lbs or so right now. Its a beauty, and its color is starting to deepen.  Unfortunately the other pumpkin on the vine rotted away, but yesterday I notice a promising looking freshly set female flower starting to swell up.  

And here are more ball zucchini from our few plants I have.

Pest Status 

The most numerous pest this year is undoubtedly the cucumber beetle, both the spotted and striped ones.  There are hundreds of them around my cucurbit vines.  They are mostly found in the morning on the blossoms, feeding on the flowers and pollen.  I think their biggest damage is the disease transmitting they do. I am sure they are the reason so many of my vines have had mosaic virus infection.  

The aphids have not been a problem yet.  I think spider mites have attacked my pole beans. I always have that happen when it starts getting hot.

The SVBs (squash vine borers) have not been a problem yet. I have not seen any damage yet. I have seen eggs, and have picked a few off here and there, but the vines are so huge I have no chance of getting them all.  I have even killed 3 moths already.

 I think 2 things have helped.   I got a real early start this spring,  and the vines were huge before I ever saw a moth or saw any eggs.  Also I have diligently buried vines.  So most of my big vines are either dug under or heavily mulched so the moths cannot easily lay eggs on them.  Also I have sprayed neem oil on them too, and I think that has helped too.  

Sunflowers

Our sunflowers for some reason have escaped the squirrel onslaught that caused me so much grief last year.  They are all volunteers from last year's planting. Here is a Mammoth variety. The silly plant decided to face away from our yard, so the only way I can appreciate it is to go outside into the alley and look over our 8ft fence. At least the neighbors get to enjoy it!   I have a few of this growing, plus another variety which is also very tall but has many smaller flowers instead of the single big one. Its great for cut flowers.

Summer is Here!

We, not officially, but its early June, and the temps are starting to creep into the 90s.  Most of my cool-weather plants a gone now except for a few small cabbages that are still hanging on.  The warm season plants I have are doing pretty well.  Here are those "volunteer" sunflowers.  They are huge now.  Here is my daughter Elizabeth next to one.  The plant is probably at least 9 feet tall now, and the leaves are huge.  Right below it is my sugar pie pumpkin plants, which are also doing real well and have almost totally filled that part of the yard now.

There are about 4 pumpkins growing on those vines now, and some more on the way. Here is one of them

Its quite a jungle in that part of the yard.  Once again, I made the mistake of underestimating how far the plants would spread.  I can hardly walk among them anymore.  Its quite  a task to walk among them without stepping on any vines.

My Rouge Vif D'etampes plants are doing really well too, and I have a very nice pumpkin growing on it too. Here is the big one:

These pumpkins are a different species than the Sugar Pies... these are C. Maxima.  When immature they are yellow but then turn a deep orange/red later. 

Here is a smaller one that just  was pollinated, and is starting to grow now.

Below is a picture of one of my ball zucchini plants.  You can see one of the zucchinis in the bottom of the pic.  Its a real good looking plant!

The acorn squash are doing OK too. I was hoping to have a few more squash by now.  So far I have 2 that are almost ripe, and a couple more that are getting there. The plants seem fairly healthy, but the vines are rather thin and small.  Now sure what's up with them.

I think I have some sort of mosaic virus among my plants.  I have  a ton of cucumber beetles flying around.  And I read they are carriers of the virus.  My pole beans have not been doing very well.  Many of the leaves are blotchy looking, and are curled up. The bean pods are small too.

Unfortunately my Hubbard squash vines have been showing many of the symptoms...  Mottled looking green/yellow leaves, curled up leaves.... But the vine are still growing like gangbusters.  So I have not had to heart to rip them out, since the plant seems to be able to deal with it somewhat.  What's been real sad is that I have lost all my squash in progress.  They have all grown a little, then turned yellow, and started rotting.  What a bummer.  I hope the plant stops aborting them.  I wonder if its the virus having an effect on it.

The German Chamomille is doing great still. Tons of flowers now.  We have been picking lots of them to dry for future tea.  We have also made some tea from the fresh flowers.  They have a great apple-like smell.  No wonder they call it "Manzanilla" in Spanish, which sounds like "manzana" which means apple.

Mid May Garden Update

Hello again! Its mid-May, and my garden is looking more like a jungle now.  Many of the cool weather plants have gone to seed, and I've let many of them flower so I can get seeds for next year.  This weekend, I got a bunch of broccoli seeds pods which I had allowed to dry off, and my daughters and I worked on extracting a bunch of seeds from them, and saved them for the fall.  I have some collard seed pods that I will probably harvest soon to do the same too. I am also letting a lot of my spinach go to seed, to see if I can save some spinach seeds too.  I had 2 kinds of spinach,  one the savoy kind, and the other a regular type leaf spinach...so the seeds I get might be interesting.

My snow peas have produced very well but are taking a beating from both the powdery mildew and spider mites.  They lower part of  the plants is completely infested, and the upper part is still producing. I might pull up all the plants soon to give more space to my Rouge Vif D'etampes pumpking vines, which are getting quite large now.

My son's flowers are doing pretty well too.   Here is some Germany Chamomile  in bloom.  We have already picked many of the flowers and are drying them out for use later as tea.  You can also make tea with the fresh flowers... they have a wonderful smell, sort of like apples. 

And here is one of his California poppies.   They are stunning, and are blooming like crazy.  plus I found out you can also use the plant for making tea...  supposed to be medicinal too.

The Cucurbits

Here are the Rouge vif D'etampes pumpkins.   They are growing real fast now, and the vines look real healthy.   I saw my first  Squash Vine borer moth today, and  fortunately was able to kill it.   I inspected all the vines, and just found one egg, on a sugar pie pumpkin vine.  

And here are some of my sugar pie pumpin vines, next to 2 volunteer sunflowers.  

 In dealing with SVB, I think I will skip the tulle netting over the plants. The plants are all very big now, and I have buried many of the vines, so I think they could probably survive some attacks, if my other preventative measures dont work as well.   My current battle plan then is:

1. Neem oil. - I bought some pure cold-pressed need oil, and began applications.  Its the real stuff, not the clarified hydrophobic extract, which has the azadirachtin removed. I got it from ROT Organics, a local company :   http://neempro.com/neempro.php

I started applying it a few weeks ago, and applied again today, especially after seeing a SVB moth flying around.  (Look at my 2012 Blog entry that deals with SVBs... that has more info on these pests).

2. Hand picking eggs.  I plan on inspecting the vines every few days to pick off any eggs.   

I still have a small patch of mustard.  I've picked some of the leaves, and we had some mixed mustard/collard green for dinner last week.  The pumpkin vines (both a sugar pie pumpkin and Rouge Vif D'etampes will soon overgrow this area, as you can see the vines in the background too).

Here is one of the acorn squash, the Table Queen Acorn.  I have about 3 growing, but some of my newer female flowers have recently aborted... I hope I can get more from these plants.

And here is the Hubbard squash. This one has been growing for about  a week now.  The ones before have aborted unfortunately but this one looks like it will stick.  The bad new is that my vines have been looking kind of sick recently.  I suspect it some sort of mosaic virus.  But I hate to pull up my plants, so I'm just going to wait and see what happens. The plant is still growing like crazy, about 3 - 4 inches a day, but the leaves come out blotchy looking and curled up.  Hopefully the plant can survive and still produce.  What a bummer though.. I was worried about the SVBs but didn't anticipate getting hit with mosaic virus...

Chickens

The other big news is, we have chickens now!  I love those little fuzz balls.  They love walking around looking for bugs, and pecking at stuff.    Here are 2 of them, an Americauna chick, and a Gold-Sex-Link chick.

Here is a Black Sex-Link Chick next to a  pumpkin blossom.

May 2nd - Cold Again!

Its been a pretty strange spring, we've had unusually cool weather at times.  Last night an unusually strong cold front blew in and its been in the low 50s all day, and will get into the upper 30s tonight.  Its also been really windy, and my poor snow pea plants,which are really tall, were blown over, so when I got home from work, I had to tie some rope along the fence to support them.

Its been a great spring in the garden.  We've eaten lots of cabbage, lettuce, collards, turnips, and spinach so far. Lately, we've also had tons of snow peas. Here is some of the harvest in the kitchen ready to be prepared.

We've also picked a few carrots.  Here is a really fat carrot we picked. Some have been real short but fat.  

I had my first Hubbard squash blossoms a few days ago. But strangely, they were female flowers! So since there were no male flowers around, I picked the flowers and used them in a salad.  Usually the plants put out a lot of male flowers first.  My theory is that the cooler weather, and cold blasts we've had this spring has made the plants think they better start making fruit quick, cause winter is coming.

This blossom opened yesterday morning.  There were a few males open, so I was able to hand pollinate this one. (in case the bees dont) I hope it sets, so I can have my first squash of the year growing.